The
influence of the media on our perceptions, way of living, opinions,
inter-actions and views about other cultures is undoubtedly high.
Information provided by the mainstream media reaches millions of
people daily. Unfortunately, in the mainstream media, favourable information about Blacks in
general is seldom and usually stereotypical . In order to promote
balanced information about the activities of the Black community in
the media as well as networking, the third Black Media Congress was organized by cyberNomads in October
2004. Afritopic was present at the 3-day event.

The
cyberNomads team, Michael Küppers-Adebisi and Abdel Rahman Satti,
organized the third Black Media Congress at the House of World
Cultures in Berlin. The event began in the evening of the
29th October 2004 with an opening speech by Thomas Krüger, president of
the Federal Agency for Civil Education (Bundeszentrale
für politische Bildung (BpB)). The agency is the major
sponsor of the Black Media Congress. Krüger's speech was followed by a
welcome address from Peter Seel, an official of the House of
World Cultures and project leader/curator of the Black Atlantic event.
After his welcome address, Michael Küppers-Adebisi and Abdel Rahman
Satti explained the work of cyberNomads and the goals of the
Black Media Congress.

In a
press conference that followed, the cyberNomads team answered
questions from journalists and discussed diverse issues pertaining to
the Black Media Congress and the May Ayim Award events. The first international German Black literary prize award May
Ayim Award began after the press conference later in the evening.
At the highly

Stephen
Lawson

impressive award ceremony that included literary
performances and music shows, first prize winners were presented with
golden sculpture and a bunch of flowers each while each second and third prize
winner received a bunch flowers.

In the next two days 30th and 31st
October, a series of presentations/lectures, roundtable discussions
and workshops formed the agenda of the Black Media Congress.

The
cyberNomads team was able to attract academics, filmmakers/producers,
actor/actress, music and media professionals from as far as Africa, North and South America as well as
European countries to participate in the congress. In the very tight
schedule of the two-day program, about 17 presentations/lectures, 8
workshops, 2 roundtable discussions and 4 movies were available for
participants to consume. The range of topics included Black history/
African Diaspora, self-empowerment, Black music, cyberculture, Black
Business/ entrepreneurship, networking, best
practice, survival strategies, race and equality issues. As examples,
the contents of 3 presentations are briefly summarized as follow:

The
Situation of Blacks and Black Media in Brazil by Regina dos Santosand Paulo
Rogerio Nunes: Regina dos Santos is a Brazilian
historian, educator, activist and founding member of the organization Sociedade de Cultura DOMBALI. The organization fights against
discrimination and racism in Brazil. Together with her
colleague, Paulo Rogério, she presented the work of the organization DOMBALI and
the situation of Blacks in Brazil.
Some of the
issues she spoke about included the following:

Brazil has a
population of 91 Million with about 50% Blacks

70%
of the population are teenagers

The
economy is dominated by Whites of Jewish origin who are also in
control of the mainstream media

The
main infrastructure are to be found in areas occupied by the White
population

Blacks
are generally excluded from the economy system

Open
discrimination against Blacks is part of the mainstream system

The
system keeps majority of Blacks in extreme poverty thereby causing
hunger, frustration and violence. In short, the system is
inflicting genocide on Blacks.

The
DOMBALI organization aims to gain media power. By having media
power, they could channel important information to the Black
community and educate them of their rights.

Aissatou
Thiam and Dieudonne Mbala

Black
Music Research by Mykael S. Riley:
Mykael S. Riley is a musician and music researcher living and working
in the UK. He is one of the
4 Blacks in the music research academia in Britain and the founder of
Black Music educational Trust (BMET). Riley identified some of the
problems and obstacles Blacks in the music sector have to deal with as follow:

The
most valuable archives of Black music history and developments are
owned by White governments and institutions. In the case of Britain, the archives
were taken away from her former colonies.

Blacks
do not have easy access to the archives, even for research
purposes. There are several formalities to go through in order to
access Black music archives

Congress
Participants

Black
music is now a lifestyle/culture that has been adopted by old and new
generations of the White society that prefer to use the word
“Urban” instead of “Black”. Unfortunately, since the
majority of producers and buyers of Black music are White, the
term “Urban” is gaining more recognition in the society. Even
the term “Urban” is now often used among younger Black
generation, which indicates that knowledge of Black music history
is lacking.

The
Black Music Educational Trust (BMET) is a non-profit organization
with the aim of researching Black Music activities in Britain from
historical and academic viewpoints. Its focus would be on
educating both the industry and the public about Black music. continued>

Branwen
Okpako(left)

Web

www.afritopic.com

The
Revolution within the Revolution by Abdul Alkalimat: Prof. Abdul Alkalimat is currently Professor of Africana Studies and Sociology
and Director of the Africana Studies program at the University of
Toledo, Ohio. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is the editor
of both Malcolm X: A Research
Site and eBlack Studies.
In his lecture, Alkalimat presented how the modern technology in
particular the internet could be implemented to create a large network
for Blacks worldwide as well as promote Black history. Some of the
points he presented are as follow:

The
internet provides a platform where Blacks could share information
without giving it away totally; historical information,
intellectual and artistic productions could be made available for
everyone

The
eBlack Studies is intended to be a virtualisation of the Black
experience and the basis of the next stage of the academic
discipline Black Studies.

The
challenge is to develop eBlack
into a positive force for Africa and the
African Diaspora. On global level, it will represent a new era of
struggle against known enemies like AIDs, poverty and
dictatorship.

It could be a new form of Pan-Africanism

Three
general principles or theoretical concepts namely cyberdemocracy,
collective intelligence and information freedom will guide the
debates and discussions to promote eBlack.

A
cross-section of the presentations/lectures, movies and roundtable
discussions include the following:

Books and magazines
were also on sale at the congress. In general, the atmosphere was
friendly; participants engaged in discussions, exchanged views and
contact details. The congress brought together people of African
descent from different nations, academic and professional backgrounds working constructively in their fields to achieve self-empowerment. By presenting their works, sharing their knowledge,
discussing problems and probable resolutions, announcing and
celebrating their achievements, the participants proved beyond doubt
that Blacks have taken up the challenge and are determined to be
successful.